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SES Chicago: Profitable Opportunities for CPG Marketers

Abby Johnson — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 15:24:53 +0000

Although search is more “mainstream” than it has ever been, consumer-packaged-goods marketers aren’t fully taking advantage of their excessive opportunities. Clicks used to be about branded search and paid search, but recent ComScore research shows a tremendous growth in organic search thus emphasizing organic as the best strategy for CPG marketers.

As search engines become more sophisticated, so do the searchers. In the above video from SES Chicago, Eli Goodman, Search Evangelist for ComScore, says 73 percent of searchers are now becoming more specific with their search queries and are looking for information and help. Although these observations strengthen a paid strategy, ComScore is seeing a shift in traffic to social media enhancers such as Yahoo! Answers, Google Blogger, and About.com.

To make the search experience more sophisticated for the user, the CPG sites need to cater to those early on in the purchase process instead of only focusing on product details and where to buy. Users want and need the opportunity to ask questions and have those questions answered.

If searchers have a positive user experience, then they will become repeat customers. Another perk with a producing a positive user experience is getting effective word-of-mouth promotion in return.

SES: Dana Todd Gets Searchy

admin — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 21:11:46 +0000

Top level executives throughout the business world are starting to get the concepts behind search marketing. The Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization (SEMPO) has seen marketers inside corporations being called into action to help their companies make greater headway into search. SEMPO President Dana Todd spoke with us on these topics. Search marketing has progressed in many areas in recent years. For the first time, search marketing is truly being enforced at a conceptual level by organizations. As a result, inside people are building search strategies.

There is also a greater emphasis on paid searches. While demand is still very high for search marketing, the buying game is a different story. You are now seeing a more diversified approach since many companies are sharing the load. Companies are moving to a more specialized form of search marketing. Despite these trends, companies still need to work together in order to be successful.

Todd also told us all about the SEMPO Institute and how you can attend. Learn more about all this and much more from the exclusive WebProNews video shot on location at SES New York 2007.

Eric Ward Link Baiting and Building Strategies

admin — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 16:38:09 +0000

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Few can speak about link building and link baiting with the experience and authority that Eric Ward brings to the table. He’s been doing this sort of thing since 1994, before the vast majority had even heard of a hyperlink.

In this WebProNews: The Insider video, Managing Editor Mike McDonald connects with Ward via webcam to discuss the finer points of link building today, what constitutes good link bait, and creating a good balance of organic and paid links.

What is linkbait?

Linkbait can be anything – anything that inspires somebody at another website or blog to link back to it. The only boundary is creativity.

What makes something linkable? We can only speak with examples and general guidance, but:

Whatever it is, it should be clever and useful to the end-user, either by “interestingness” or by its ability to solve a problem.

Widgets, then, make sense as great linkbait.

Good linkbait is pure, not coming off as “slimy” or “cheesy.”

“In the long run,” says Ward, “the end user votes with the mouse.”

How do you develop a linking strategy?

Strategies should mesh with the intent and market of the website being promoted.

Any link is not necessarily a good link. Quality links matter. The right audience matters.

Timing is important. If you want to promote something for next week, organic SEO isn’t going to work. You may need to buy some links or bid on some keywords.

Use organic SEO for promotions far in the future (if for the Christmas season, begin in September).

There is no optimal balance of paid and organic links. It depends on what the end goal is.

Get the content in front of the audience you care about.

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Does Paid Search Effect Organic Rankings and Microsoft Plans to by MedStory.com

admin — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 21:18:56 +0000

Does paid search have an affect on organic search engine rankings? Google CPG Blog’s Susan Minniear comments on endorsing paid search. Minniear outlines four reasons for companies to invest in paid search: Control, Competition, ROI and the more the better. Paid advertisements let you manage your message more. Hitwise statistics explain if you don’t use paid search to make the most of your brand, the competition probably will. EMarketer statistics show the conversion rate for brand keywords seems almost four times higher than for no-brand keywords. Minnier adds the more ads the better.

Microsoft announced plans to purchase health search engine Medstory.com. Medstory works towards filling the needs of customers and health professionals who look for information on medical topics. Search Insider’s Mark Simon imagines Microsoft moving forward to triumph in the search wars. Simon thinks Microsoft has landed a huge advantage in the health market with the vertical search engine Medstory.

The world’s largest video search engine Blinkx teamed up with Motion.tv to include user-generated video content to search indexing. Blinkx has developed a reputation for complete video searching. Motion.tv permits anyone with a video camera to distribute his or her video clips online and make money while doing it. Blinkx plans on indexing more than four thousand Motion.tv video clips to make them more crawlable.

Michael Alan Crooker sues Microsoft for failing to hide porn. The FBI invaded Crooker’s home in 2004 to look for homemade explosives. The FBI took his laptop to analyze data and discovered a variety of porn. Crooker seeks compensatory and punitive damages from breeches in data security, because he set Internet Explorer to delete his browsing history after five days and Crooker claims the software failed to do so.